Latest / Scripture Central / Mosiah 1–3 | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource

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Mosiah 1–3 | Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin | A Come Follow Me Resource · Scripture Central

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Hello there, my name is Tyler Griffin and this is Scripture
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Study Insights by Scripture Central Today Mosiah chapters
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1-2 and three. This is an incredible set of of
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chapters for teaching all kinds of of life lessons and helping
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us on the covenantal path. There are literally thousands of
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different teaching and learning and study overlays that you
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could put on to these chapters and benefit from.
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That is one of the amazing things about these these
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scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, is it is broad enough
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and deep enough that it can take whatever, whatever you need.
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You can bring into this book all of your questions, all of your
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concerns, all of your approaches, and it can take it.
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And we'll never get to the the bottom of the the gems that this
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book has to offer us. So considering that there are
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1,000,000 directions we could go, I wanted to take one
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teaching and learning overlay perspective that I felt might be
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quite meaningful at this phase of the church in the ongoing and
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unfolding restoration and where things are currently with the
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spreading of the gospel in the world.
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And it has to do with relationships.
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It has to do with a a sense of belonging to the Lord in a
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covenant or as Elder Garrett W Gong has mentioned in a variety
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of settings and and talks this idea of covenantal belonging.
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So with that foundation, if you look carefully, when you get
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into a relationship, especially a covenantal relationship, there
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are usually two parties. There's me and there's thee.
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So the things that pertain to me and the things that pertain to
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thee. And then when you come together
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here in the middle, the focus becomes on the we.
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So in relationships and covenants this, this middle
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section, this we this is where the the incredible miracles take
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place. It's not what can I get from
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thee. It's how can we put all of our
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energy on our efforts and our resources into building this,
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this new entity that is no longer isolated, It's now
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combined and in in the Abrahamic covenant or in the big covenant,
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that invitation from from heaven.
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I will be your God and you will be my people.
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We're now coming together into this, this middle space, and
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we're trying to add everything we can into that relationship.
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So with that foundation, let's dive into these first three
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chapters of Mosiah, looking carefully for what is this?
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What do these chapters teach us About loving God, about loving
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our neighbor, about coming into covenantal relationships with
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God, and with our with a community belonging to this
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covenant community. So we open in chapter one and
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notice you can keep putting the different labels on who the ME
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is in these different parts of the chapters.
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So in this case, let's read it through the lenses of King
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Benjamin, who's towards the end of his life in this perspective
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of this loving aged father who is in the the location of the ME
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on this little diagram here on the left.
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And he's coming in to a conversation with his sons,
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three of them, Mosiah, Hilorim and Hiloman.
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And he caused that they should be taught in the language of his
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fathers. Notice he's bringing his sons
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into this beautiful middle ground relationship and he's
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teaching them the language of his fathers, which if you look
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over at verse 4, includes the language of the Egyptians.
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Why is that important? Because he's not just trying to
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take care of their physical needs right here, right now.
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He's trying to help them become self-sufficient so that they can
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build the kind of relationship down the road with God through a
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serious study of their scriptures at that time in
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Egyptian, and to be able to pass them on to their subsequent
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generations, which would then bless a whole generation after
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generation after generation all the way down to our day and
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time. So thank heaven for people in
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the past who were covenantally focused and were willing to
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sacrifice things, not with the intent to try to get something
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from in, in this case, Benjamin trying to get something from his
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sons or from us down the road. But he's trying to add into this
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middle ground, this, this area of we, this covenantal belonging
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that would then benefit and bless as many lives as possible
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in his own day as well as moving forward in time.
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I love this perspective. Now you turn the page over.
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Look at verse six. It says, Oh my sons, I would
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think you should remember that these sayings are true and also
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that these records are true. And behold also the plates of
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Nephi which contain the records in the sayings of our Father
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from the time they left Jerusalem until now.
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And they are true, and we can know of their surety because we
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have them before our eyes. So he's trying to strengthen
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them by bringing them further into this covenant connection
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with God and with the past prophets.
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And then he goes on verse 7. And now my sons, I would that
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you should remember to search them diligently.
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Don't treat the golden plates or the brass plates as if they're
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just a relic or an artifact or a trophy for the Nephite kings or
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prophets, but search them diligently.
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Why? So that you may profit thereby,
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and I would that you should keep the commandments of God, that
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you may prosper in the land according to the promises which
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the Lord hath made unto our fathers.
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So here's King Benjamin showing this, this multi generational
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recognition of building faith that he's looking to the past
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and and mentioning how amazingly blessed his life has been
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because of what past prophets have done.
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Now he's trying to pass this on to his children so they can
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become a strong link in this chain of covenantal faith
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through the generations. And then in verse nine it tells
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you he waxed old and he was soon going to pass away.
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So he asks his son Mosiah to go and gather the people at the
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temple so he can pass the baton of leadership on to to Mosiah.
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And he also promises that he will give a name to the people.
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Because you see this covenantal belonging.
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It's not just belonging to a club, as as exciting and as
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helpful as that may be in certain ways in our world, this
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is belonging in a covenant that is given a name.
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The name that he's going to be giving them is the name of
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Christ, and that is the name whereby they're going to be
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called. And that is the true test of
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these relationships, is are we doing the right things for the
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right reasons? Because we're looking to our
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exemplar, Jesus Christ. That's where you'll find unity.
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That's where you'll find oneness.
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That's where you'll find that covenantal belonging is only in
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Christ. So let's dive right in and look
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at his speech. Let's go to Mosiah chapter 2,
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and let's jump all the way down to verse nine.
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We're going to skip the part where they come to make
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sacrifice in the tense. These these concepts we've
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talked about in in previous videos.
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So in chapter 2, he gathers all of the people at the temple and
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they're sitting in their tents with their tent door facing the
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temple, facing the prophet. So a whole group of people who
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are separate individuals and separate family units have all
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come together into this center place rooted in Christ, focused
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on the Prophet facing the temple.
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There's there's beautiful power here as we consider what it what
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it means to gather in one and to become more like Zion.
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And so he stands up on this tower, which is caused to be
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built because there were so many people who couldn't hear him and
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they still can't hear him. So he causes his message to be
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written and distributed among them.
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But pay close attention to the opening of his great speech here
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in verse 9, the very first words out of his mouth.
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My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together,
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you that can hear my words, which I shall speak unto you
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this day. It's interesting to note that
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he's a king, and most kings in the history of time feel very
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high and mighty. Here he is even physically
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standing in a high tower, with everybody facing him.
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It would be so easy for him to inhale the praise, the the glory
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of the world, and to become less like Jesus Christ, and to speak
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down at his people, and to look down on them and to speak to
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them in terms such as my subjects, my servants, my my
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lowly, my, my people. But he says, my brethren,
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there's something very, very Christ like about this entire
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speech coming from King Benjamin, this, this great king
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who has flipped the Kingdom on its head.
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Because most kingdoms in the history of time have a king
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sitting at the apex at the at the pinnacle, where everybody
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does everything to serve him so he doesn't have to work.
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And here we get the inverted King perspective where he's at
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the bottom serving all of them, including here at the very end
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of his life as he's on the Tower.
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One of the perspectives you can take as you read through and
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study these chapters on your own King Benjamin's speech is to
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pause and analyse. Why is King Benjamin saying
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this? Why is he teaching that
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doctrine? What is he trying to get from
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the people by saying that? Or what benefit is there for him
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by having him emphasize that teaching, And the answer usually
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is nothing. He's teaching these things to
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benefit them, to build this covenantal community.
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Here at the middle, he is putting his whole soul into
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these people and consecrating his life to the Lord and
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demonstrating it beautifully as we go through here.
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After that introduction, he then says, I have not commanded you
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to come up, hit her to trifle with the words which I shall
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speak. Unfortunately, because of the
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ability of the Internet to to spread voices and to create
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feelings of expertise among a variety of people teaching a
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variety of doctrines, it's become very easy for people to
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trifle with the words of the scriptures and the living
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prophets. For people to make statements or
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to make claims about what is really true and what is a nice
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idea. But you don't have to live it,
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even if it comes from the prophets, brothers and sisters.
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The The amazing thing to remember is truth is a knowledge
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of things as they are, as they were and as they are to come,
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things as they really are. If you want to take Jacob's
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definition. And prophets, Sears and
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revelators like King Benjamin in this context are given certain
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teachings. And if we choose to trifle with
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those words, we are the ones who are now going to draw attention
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to ourselves, drawing attention away from God and away from this
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covenant community, and putting the focus on ourselves, which is
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a dangerous place to be. So he says, don't don't trifle
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with these words which I shall speak, but that you should
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hearken unto me. Listen, pay attention, obey,
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Engage with these words, think them through deeply.
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And then he gives you an invitation to open your ears
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that you may hear and your hearts that you may understand,
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and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded
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to your view. I love that the ears, the hearts
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and the minds. He wants the whole soul engaged
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and opened so that when he teaches, all three of those
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parts of our revelatory capacity will be activated so that we can
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see, we can hear, we can know, we can feel, and hopefully cause
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us to do and become something in this covenant or community.
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So he then goes on to talk about verse 12, this opposite of what
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you would expect, kind of a Kingdom.
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I say unto you, that as I have been suffered to spend my days
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in your service, even up to this time, and have not sought gold,
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nor silver, nor any manner of riches from you, I have not
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tried to take from you, and I've not tried to take from this
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combined Kingdom that we've been building this Zion.
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I've been infusing it with my life, with my work, with my
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heart, with my teachings. Verse 13.
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Neither have I suffered that you should be confined in dungeons,
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nor that you should make slaves one of another, nor that you
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should murder or plunder, or steal or commit adultery.
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Nor even have I suffered that you should commit any manner of
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wickedness. That five part series that we
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just read right there, murder, plunder, steal, commit adultery,
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nor commit any manner of wickedness.
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That five part series in that order, appears seven other times
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in the Book of Mormon by subsequent prophets.
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They keep referring back to this list it it almost becomes one of
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the foundations for their law in their society moving forward.
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And they keep reminding the people of what King Benjamin had
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taught there and then. This beautiful verse.
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I hope you hear more than just an aged King Benjamin in your in
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your mind saying these words. I hope you can see beyond the
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symbol of that incredibly powerful king, and look beyond
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him to Jesus Christ. Notice what he says.
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Even I myself have labored with my own hands that I might serve
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you, and that you should not be laden with taxes, and there
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should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be born.
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And all of these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are
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witnesses this day. King Benjamin is a beautiful
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example of that, but it's only because he is modeling his life
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after the Lord Jesus Christ, who happens to be the only perfect
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example of those principles in verse 14.
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It's the Savior, Jesus Christ, who took those burdens, those
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prison sentences, so to speak, those those difficulties of
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life, and carried them to the greatest degree possible, so
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that we would not have to carry them only as absolutely
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necessary or essential in our in the course of our development
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and our our discipleship. And I love the motivation.
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Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might
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boast. Neither do I tell these things
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that thereby I might accuse you, But I tell you these things that
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you may know that I can answer a clear conscience before God this
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day. If you if you look at the
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Savior's example from that first line, I have not done these
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things that I might boast. The beautiful comparison here is
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found in Doctrine Covenant Section 19 after Jesus Christ
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shares with Martin Harris and Joseph Smith the incredible
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depth of his suffering and his pain and the anguish of of body
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and spirit that He endured for us.
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After describing all of that in verse 19, he says nevertheless,
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glory be to the Father. He doesn't boast of himself.
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He doesn't say, look what I did for you, so therefore give me
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all the credit. Quite the opposite, he says.
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Look at all these things that were done for you, therefore
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give the credit to Heavenly Father.
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Now that is a beautiful concept that could be applied in our own
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life, which is is another lifelong learning overlay.
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Perspective to consider here. If we read our scriptures and
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study our scriptures, and if we talk of Christ and rejoice of
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Christ and prophecy of Christ, if we dive in and do these
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studies and then close our scriptures and go about our
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daily life unchanged, then we've probably missed the point of the
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intent of that scripture study. It's intended to help us learn
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of Christ, to see the beauty of his his perfect example, to
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taste of the goodness of God and of his grace towards us, so that
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when we close those scriptures, we now go about our life
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differently than before. We now go into our
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relationships, whether they be in the home or in the
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neighborhood or at work or at school, in the stake, in the
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branch, in the Relief Society. Whichever organizations we we
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have relationships in that we now act differently because
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we're trying to emulate these perfect examples that are shown
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over and over again. In the scriptures regarding
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Jesus Christ, so that now we don't do things for other people
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in order to boast. We don't labour to try to get
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credit. We don't insist that other
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people labour for our benefit alone.
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We keep trying to help others and to infuse our life through
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Christ like service into this covenantal community, into this
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feeling of a covenantal belonging, not just belonging in
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Christ, but belonging in this Zion like society governed by
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and directed by Jesus Christ. He then gives you this perfect
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conclusion to this concept in verse 17.
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And behold, I tell you these things, that you may learn
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wisdom, that you may learn that when ye are in the service of
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your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.
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Now many of you watching have a very difficult task that you're
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facing. It might be in the form of
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caring for children with special needs.
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It might be for parents who are aging, and you're having to make
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some really hard decisions. And it's it's painful and it
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might be financially straining, and there might be some emotion
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and some disagreement among the siblings as to what to do.
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It might be with a spouse who is struggling with ailing health or
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struggling with faith or questions and doubts.
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It might be with a loss of job or financial issues.
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There are a myriad of problems out there, but the invitation
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here is that anytime you do anything to help anyone take any
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step forward, President Nelson has remind us, on that covenant
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path you were helping to build Zion, you're you're creating
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this covenant community. You're becoming more Christ
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like. No kind thought, no kind word,
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No kind deed is wasted and goes unnoticed.
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Even if you're a mother at home with small children and nobody's
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noticing the multiple times you, you change those diapers or
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soothe those sobs or clean up those messes.
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Nobody gives you an award, Nobody recognizes you.
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But the angels are watching and you're infusing into these
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children or into these settings or into these people and into
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these relationships. You are sacrificing in a Christ
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like way, things that will build life and that will lead to this
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capacity for people to become instruments themselves in the
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hands of the Lord. And it's beautiful because
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those, those acts of service are not just being done to those
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people who are struggling in whatever way they're struggling,
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they're being done to the Savior himself.
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You're only in the service of your God.
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Hopefully that is motivating For any of you who have felt weary,
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who have felt like when is this going to end?
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I don't feel like I'm getting anything in return for all of
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the the intense labour that I'm having to put into this
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relationship or into this person or into this organization or
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this quorum or class or whatever the situation may be.
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It's worth every ounce of effort that we can consecrate.
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Then he takes it one step further.
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I love this, this next concept that King Benjamin shares with
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us, because he really puts things into perspective when he
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says verse 20. I say unto you, my brethren, And
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you might consider replacing the words, my brethren, with your
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own first name, so that you personalize these scriptures,
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and hopefully hear more than the voice of King Benjamin in your
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mind speaking to you. But hopefully you hear the voice
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of the Good Shepherd speaking to you through the words of King
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Benjamin. I say unto you, Fill in your
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name that if you should render all the things and praise which
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your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has
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created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused,
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that you should rejoice, and has granted that you should have
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peace, or live in peace, one with another.
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I say to you that if you should serve him who's created you from
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the beginning and is preserving you from day-to-day by lending
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your breath, that you may live and move and do according to
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your own will, and even supporting you from one moment
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to another. I say if you should serve him
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with all your whole souls holding back nothing, you give
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everything to him, he says, yet you would be unprofitable
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servants. Why?
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Because he has put more into this covenantal relationship
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that we've labeled as we way more than we are capable of
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putting into that relationship, we get more out of it than
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anything we put into it. And King Benjamin's perspective
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here is the moment you try to put something else into this
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relationship and serve him and praise him and do these kind
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things for other people as well. He doth immediately bless you,
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and he blesses you more than you blessed him.
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You are an unprofitable servant. And here's the beautiful
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reality. God's OK with you being an
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unprofitable servant. You see, it's not that he
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doesn't want you to pay him back.
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It's that you can't pay him back.
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And that's not the plan. Parents don't hold little
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children thinking, boy, you better pay me back for all that
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I'm putting into you. That's not what parenting is
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about. Parenting is about giving to the
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children. It's about empowering them to
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then be able to pass on that godly love, those sacrifices,
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those consecrated efforts in a generational line of faith and
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devotion and conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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It's beautiful. He's perfectly OK with us being
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unprofitable servants. Now the rest of these verses,
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read or study verse 22 down through verse 41.
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Try reading through this lens of why is King Benjamin teaching
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this doctrine and what does he what does he have to gain from
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the people in teaching that truth?
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Or replace King Benjamin as the placeholder, the symbol, the
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metaphor, if you will, for Jesus Christ, the perfect example of
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the the servant king. And ask yourself these
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questions. What would the Saviour Jesus
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Christ have me do differently because of these principles that
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are being taught in these verses?
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What is he putting into this relationship with me?
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And what is he asking me to take out or receive from this
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relationship, as well as to put into this relationship as we
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come together both at an individual level, me with
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Christ, as well as at a communal level, all of us jointly coming
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together under the direction and the watchful care of Jesus
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Christ. So you can read these through
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through both the individual and the collective lens, and it's
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powerful. Which now brings us to Chapter
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3, which happens to be one of my favorite all time chapters
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anywhere written this, this is sacred ground.
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You'll notice a shift when you get to chapter 3, and he gives
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you an indication as to why it feels a little bit different.
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And that indication comes in verse two.
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It says. And the things which I shall
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tell you are made known unto me by an Angel from God.
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So these words are going to be very angelic that they're they
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feel exalting, they feel very high and lofty.
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Just as a as an example, listen to these words and listen
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through the lens of people sitting in their tent, facing
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the temple, facing the Prophet, saying these words to them more
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than 100 years before Jesus is even born.
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They hear this, For behold, the time cometh and is not far
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distant. That with power the Lord
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Omnipotent who reigneth, who was and is from all eternity to all
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eternity, shall come down among the children of men, and shall
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dwell in a Tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men,
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working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the
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dead, causing the lame to walk the blind to receive their
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sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.
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Stop and ponder for a for a second.
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What does Jesus Christ have to gain from leaving heaven
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condescending from his position as a God, with all of that
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infinite power and capacity to come down among us the children
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of men. Take upon him flesh, and then go
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forth doing all of these things in a Tabernacle of clay.
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What does he have to gain through this condescension?
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What is he getting from this covenantal relationship?
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Can I recommend to you that on the surface, from a world's
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perspective, he has absolutely nothing to gain.
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He's just giving. Everything is a sacrifice.
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Everything is a consecrated effort to benefit other people.
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If you look only through the lenses of the world.
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But if you look through the lens of eternity, if you think
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celestial, if you will, to to use President Nelson's phrase,
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he is using all of his godly attributes to help us, to refine
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us, to help perfect us, to forgive us, to build us.
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It's in giving that you most receive in relationships.
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It's not in receiving that you most receive, It's in giving.
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I suggest to you that if you want to become more like the
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Savior today and this week and this month and this year, that
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you focus more on this perspective of what can I do to
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give to others? What can I do to live my life as
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an instrument in the hands of God?
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To turn heavenward, to love God, and to turn outward, to love my
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neighbors as myself, Because that is where you will find the
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greatest increase of capacity to love.
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Now watch, He goes on verse seven.
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He shall suffer temptations and pain of body, hunger, thirst,
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and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto
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death. For behold, blood cometh from
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every poor. So great shall be His anguish
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for the wickedness and abominations of His people, the
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Saviour's infinite atonement, his descending below all things,
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his ability to know exactly what you're going through.
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That perfect empathy, that complete and utter compassion.
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To be able to mourn with those that mourn and to comfort those
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that stand in need of comfort. Because he's he's suffered it.
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He's been there. He knows what we're going
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through. There's something beautifully
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refining about that for us that Jesus Christ gives you and me
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opportunities to practice to become more like Him by putting
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us in situations and in relationships that need
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incredible amounts of your time, your talent, your energy, your
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money, your devotion, your attention.
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And these are not means of of the Lord punishing you.
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These are tools the Lord is using to refine our character,
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to increase our our compassion and our empathy, ultimately to
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help us become more like and understand more than ever
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before, the price that was paid to redeem our soul by Jesus
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Christ Himself, this this incredible middle place of what
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we can become. And now verse eight, He shall be
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called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and
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earth. You noticing the different roles
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he's assigning here? He's the Christ, He's the Son of
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God, He's the Father of heaven and earth.
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He's the creator of all things from the beginning.
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And his mother shall be called Mary.
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And then he says, and lo, he cometh unto his own, that
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salvation might come unto the children of men, even through
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faith on his name. So he He's setting up the stage
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for what do we need to do to be able to access everything that
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Christ has put into this covenantal opportunity to
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connect with you? The most important being in the
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universe, the only perfect Son of God, the only one who
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completely kept the laws and who has infinite capacity and
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infinite power, is infinitely interested in you and me at A at
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an intimate level, at a personal level, I love the temple.
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Recommend question Do you have a testimony of the Atonement of
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Jesus Christ and of His role as your Saviour and Redeemer?
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He's inviting us into this incredible covenantal
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relationship with him. That feeling of covenantal
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belonging that Elder Gong has mentioned so many times and
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President Nelson has has beautifully taught from so many
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different angles. So now if you read the rest of
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these verses, consider what those covenantal connections
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cost Jesus Christ and what is he asking us to put into that
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relationship with him. What is your discipleship going
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to cost you? What are you going to have to
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give up? What are some things, whether
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it's time, energy, money, goals, perspectives, beliefs, passions,
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What are you going to have to give up to more fully come into
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this, this middle part of this relationship where we find the
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this belonging with Christ? If you look down now at verse
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19, he says, for the natural man is an enemy to God and has been
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from the fall of Adam and will be forever and ever.
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So the natural tendency is not to sacrifice, it's not to suffer
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for other people. It's not to look at others and
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think what do they need and what could I provide to help them
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find greater peace and joy on moving forward in the covenant
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path. That is not a natural tendency.
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The natural tendency has all of the arrows pointed inward.
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What can I get from you? How can you serve me?
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How can you bless my life? So to combat that natural
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tendency, he goes on to say, we need to yield to the enticings
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of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man and become a St.
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But we can't do this alone. It was never, ever intended for
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us to become a St. on our own and then present ourselves to
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Christ. The invitation at the very end
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of the Book of Mormon in Moroni 10 is come unto Christ and be
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perfected. In him.
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We don't get perfected and then present ourselves to Christ.
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That's exhausting and it's impossible.
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So he says we've become a St. through the Atonement of Christ
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the Lord, and we become as a child.
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Now he's going to give you a long list of childlike
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attributes. Can I suggest to you that you
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don't stop in your scripture study at the point of
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considering children modeling these these beautiful attributes
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and behaviors? But do you recognize the reality
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that any good attribute, whether we're using the symbol of a
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righteous king like Benjamin, or attributes that children
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demonstrate, that all of those are simple metaphorical
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placeholders for the ultimate example of all good attributes,
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which is Jesus Christ himself? So I'm going to take the liberty
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of changing one word and see if it adds anything to your your
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understanding of this particular concept.
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We're going to become a St. through the Atonement of Christ
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the Lord and becometh as Christ, submissive, meek, humble,
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patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which
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the Lord sees fit to inflict upon Him, even as a child does
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submit to his Father. Jesus Christ is the perfect
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example of every single one of those attributes.
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And at the end of the day, my hope, my desire for me, for my
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wife, my children, my family, my ward and stake members, for my
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students is that when we study these kinds of scriptures, we
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don't walk away saying, oh good. It's kind of like walking
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through a Museum of scriptures and looking at paintings and
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statues of ideal scenarios and situations and saying isn't that
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nice? And then going back out the door
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to regular life and not changing anything, but rather to look at
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those words on that page in verse 19 and say Heavenly Father
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more than anything else, I want to be more like Jesus Christ.
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I'm not very good at that. Please be patient with me.
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Please forgive me and help me to be more submissive, to be more
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meek, to be more humble, more patient, more full of love.
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Help me to stop being so easily offended.
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Help me to stop being so hard to to overcome an offence, but to
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be quick to forgive and to be quick to ask forgiveness.
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Help me to be more safe in my relationships with people that
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when they're when they're around me, they're not.
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They're not walking on egg shells wondering, wondering if
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if I'm upset at them, but they can feel of God's love through
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those interactions. Help me.
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I need to become more like the Saviour.
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If we collectively are approaching our scripture study
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as handbooks of instruction or blueprints for a Christ like
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life, and then we keep working at it every day and every day we
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wake up in the morning and think, oh good, it's another day
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to practice coming into this covenantal belonging with Jesus
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Christ and with my loved ones. And I'm probably not going to be
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perfect today, but it's another opportunity to practice these
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principles that I'm studying in the scriptures and I'm going to
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read more scriptures and I'm going to get more inspiration of
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ideas of ways I could try to apply these principles in my
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life. That's when scripture study
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becomes more engaging, less like busy work, less like I'm
41:52
checking a box, and more like I'm on a quest.
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A quest to become more like the Savior.
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Let me give you a fun little object lesson you can try either
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yourself or with children or with students.
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Take a little 3 by 5 card or a small piece of paper and in
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capital letters write the word that we've been talking about
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here, two capital letters. Write the word ME on this piece
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of paper in big bold letters and then walk up to a mirror and
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hold that piece of paper up to the mirror in front of you flat.
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And then look in the mirror and what you'll see is the word we.
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That is one of the the powerful overlays that I wanted to to
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emphasize from these blocks or from these chapters of Scripture
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is that the scriptures are helping us look beyond the ME.
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To be able to see our covenantal connection with God, with our
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spouse, with our children, with our parents, with our siblings,
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with our other relatives, with all of those relationships
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around us. To be able to help us reflect on
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Christ's goodness and to see those connecting points between
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US and him and us and each other.
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And in closing, I wanted to to share this story that was told
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many years ago in General Conference by President Jeffrey
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R Holland about a couple who devoted so much to the Lord in a
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in a very tangible way. This is the story of Peter
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Nielsen and the Saint George Tabernacle.
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When it was being built, times were tough, money was scarce,
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and David Cannon was the one who was in charge of raising the
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money to get the window panes to put into the Saint George
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Tabernacle. The cost was $800.
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He had had them shipped around the Cape to California, but they
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still owed $800, which at that time was a significant amount of
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money. Before they could pick them up,
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there was a certain date on the calendar where the freighter was
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going to go to California to pick up those windows, and David
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Cannon had done everything he could to raise money.
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At the same time, they've been building the temple and the
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Tabernacle in their own houses and trying to survive in that
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difficult location at that time, the Cotton Mission.
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And he'd only raised 200 of the 800 dollars.
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Well, President Holland says, living in nearby Washington, UT
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was Peter Nelson, a Danish immigrant who had been saving
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for years to add on to his modest two room Adobe home on
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the eve of the freighter's departure for California, Peter
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spent a sleepless night in that tiny house.
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He thought of his conversion in far off Denmark and his
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subsequent gathering for the Saints in America.
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After coming W, he had settled and struggled to make a living
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in San Pete. And then, just as some
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prosperity seemed imminent, there he answered the call to
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uproot and go to the Cotton Mission, bolstering the pathetic
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and sagging efforts of the Alkali.
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Soiled malaria, plagued flood, bedeviled settlers of Dixie.
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As he lay in bed that night, contemplating his years in the
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church, he weighed the sacrifices.
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Asked of him against the wonderful blessings he had
45:51
received somewhere in those private hours, he made a
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decision. In the middle of the night.
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Peter got up. He went to a certain location
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and he brought out of a secret hiding place, $600 in gold
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coins. His wife Karen, aroused by the
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pre dawn bustling, asked why he was up sorely, and he said only
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that he had to walk quickly the seven miles to Saint George to
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give $600 to brother David H Cannon.
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As the first light of morning fell on the beautiful red cliffs
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of southern Utah, a knock came at brother Cannon's door.
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There stood Peter Nelson, holding a red bandana which
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sagged under the weight it carried.
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Good morning, David, Said Peter. I hope I'm not too late.
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You will know what to do with this money.
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With that, he turned on his heel and he retraced his steps back
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to Washington, back to a faithful and unquestioning wife,
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and back to a small two room Adobe house that remained just
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two rooms for the rest of his life.
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Brothers and sisters, that's one teeny example out of millions
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that we could give of people who are living their life and who
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live their life for the we, not for the Me.
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May the Lord bless us in our efforts to connect more fully
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with Him and more fully with each other, which is going to
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cost you something. But oh, what a glorious cost
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that is, And what the Lord has to give us in return for that
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service, in whatever form that service may take.
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He lives, He loves us, and He's the giver of all good gifts and
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attributes, is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ.
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Amen. Know that you're loved.